Boris Johnson flies in to Qatar to sort out Gulf crisis

10 July 2017, 12:46 | Kara Nash

Qatar Battles to Keep Calm and Carry On as Saudi Led Blockade Ravages Economy

Qatar says it is establishing a committee to pursue compensation claims arising from an unprecedented blockade imposed against the Persian Gulf country by four Arab countries, dubbed as the siege states, led by Saudi Arabia.

A quartet of Arab countries suspended their diplomatic relations with Qatar last month, and are due to meet in Cairo on Wednesday after Doha rejected a list of 13 demands, missing an extended deadline.

To further pressure Qatar, Saudi Arabia has totally closed its land border with its tiny neighbor, through which much of Qatar's food supply crossed.

Hamburg - Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir held talks on Saturday with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on joint efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, as well as regional and global developments.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced they had cut all ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists.

Qatar was ready to "cooperate and review all claims that do not contradict the sovereignty of the State of Qatar", it added.

"We must not allow any country to support or finance terrorism", added al-Jubeir according to Al-Arabiya.

Doha refused to comply with the demands and denies accusations of ties to extremist groups.

Among other topics, the two discussed the Gulf crisis as well as ways to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between Qatar and the United Kingdom, according to Qatar's state news agency.

On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson landed in Saudi Arabia in what his office said was the first in a series of Gulf meetings aimed at resolving the crisis.

They also ordered Qatari citizens to leave their territories and took various steps against Qatari firms and financial institutions.

It went on to say that Qatar "is an active member committed to worldwide conventions in combating terrorism and its financing at the regional and global levels".

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will embark on a personal mission today to help resolve the ongoing Gulf crisis that has threatened Washington's counterterrorism operations in the Middle East, media reports said.

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